SAN PASQUAL VALLEY: Endangered California condor chicks hatched

SAN PASQUAL VALLEY -- Two endangered California condor chicks
were born at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park over the past
several days, and seven more are expected to hatch in the next few
months, it was announced Wednesday.

Two California condor chicks have hatched since Friday and a
third was beginning to emerge Wednesday, according to the San Diego
Zoo.

One more and the Wild Animal Park will reach a milestone, having
hatched 150 California condors since breeding of the critically
endangered species began 27 years ago, zoo officials said.

The first egg laid by a condor pair at the Wild Animal Park is
removed and artificially incubated before the hatched chick is
raised by keepers using a puppet. The parents then lay a second egg
and raise that condor chick themselves.

According to the Wild Animal Park, the process has led to a
successful breeding and release program.

The California condor was near extinction in the 1980s, when the
world population of the species hit a low of 22. Today, the
California condor population includes more than 320 birds, more
than half of which have been released into the wild.